A new case of “phishing” in China reminds us how important it is to opt for two-factor authentication to protect our Apple user ID, especially if we have linked a credit or debit card to it. A week ago, two Chinese online payment giants, namely, Alipay and WeChat, reported that their customers whose Apple IDs were linked to the before-mentioned company’s accounts had been hacked. The e-stores noticed misuse of the Apple users’ electronic wallets.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Apple company has now sent a message apologizing sincerely for the situation. However, they also confirmed that the problem has occurred outside the Cupertino-based company, and has been limited to a massive case of “phishing,” an email scam in which the cyberattackers send a message that looks like coming from Apple but, in reality, is not Apple.
Apple recommend two-factor authentication after the recent “phishing” attacks of Apple ID across China
According to this “phishing” email, the Apple ID user is urged to connect to a page that looks like Apple’s official site, but, once again, is not Apple’s. When Apple users connect to that fake website and enter their Apple ID account and password, they are giving their credentials to hackers who use them as they want.
“We apologize sincerely for the inconvenience caused to customers affected by these phishing scams,” Apple stated.
Apparently, the hacked Apple customers had not configured two-factor authentication, which would have prevented hackers from accessing their Apple ID. However, as reported, the issue only affected Apple users across China.
Apple has not confirmed how many of its clients have been affected, nor what money amounts have been stolen. Also, the Cupertino-based company did not offer details on how cyberattackers obtained the list of the Apple IDs across China to send “phishing” emails to them. However, Apple recommended users worldwide to adopt two-factor authentication.
